Mtu^^^^^^-^ti^ 


UBRARY 
STATE  PLANT  BOARD 

Circular  No.  18,  Second  Series.    (Revision  of  No.  14.) 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 

DIVISION   OF   ENTOMOLOGY. 


THE  MEXICAN  COTTONBOLL  WEEVIL. 

(Anthouomus  grandis  Boh.) 
SCOPE    OF    THE    CIRCULAR. 

Circular  No.  6  was  published  in  April,  1895,  and  coutained  a  brief 
report  of  the  observations  made  up  to  that  time,  and  the  conclusions 
based  on  those  observations,  concerning  the  Mexican  cotton-boll  weevil, 
an  insect  of  Central 
American  origin 
which,  during  1894, 
attracted  considera 
ble  attention  in  th( 
cotton  fields  of  south 
Texas.  The  investi- 
gation was  continued 
during  the  summer, 
fall,  and  early  winter 
of  1895,  especially  by 
My.  Schwarz,  who 
visited  Texas  in  May 
and  June  and  again 
from  October  to  De- 
cember, and  by  Mr. 
Townsend,  who  was 
stationed  in  the  State 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  summer.  The  writer  went  to  Texas  in 
December,  and  in  company  with  Mr.  Schwarz  carefully  studied  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  at  that  season  and  talked  with  many  prominent  cot- 
ton growers.  The  results  of  these  supplementary  investigations  were 
published  in  Circular  No.  14,  which  was  issued  both  in  English  and  in 
Spanish.  During  189(>  still  other  investigations  were  made  by  the 
gentlemen  mentioned  and  by  Mr.  C.  L.  Marlatt,  who  studied  especially 
the  question  of  remedies,  and  the  results  obtained  necessitate  the  pub- 
lication of  still  another  circular  on  the  subject.  In  this  circular  all  of 
the  essential  points  of  the  previous  circulars  have  been  repeated,  the 
section  on  remedies  has  been  entirely  rewritten,  and  a  paragraph  has 
been  added  on  the  work  of  the  weevil  during  1896. 

GENERAL  APPEARANCE  AND  METHOD  OF  WORK. 

This  insect  is  a  small,  grayish  weevil,  of  the  shape  and  general 
appearance  shown  in  fig.  1,  a,  and  measuring  a  little  less  than  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  in  length.     It  is  found  in  the  cotton  fields  throughout 


Fig.  1.- 


-Aiithonomus  grandis:    a,  adult  ])e('tle: 
enlarged. 


'>,  pnjia;  c.  larva — all 


SB 


the  season,  panctiiring  and  laying  its  eggs  in  the  squares  and  bolls 
The  larvcT,  of  the  shape  and  appearance  shown  at  fig.  1,  c,  and  measur 
ing  a  little  over  three  eighths  of  an  inch  in  length  when  full  grown 
live  within  the  buds  and  bolls  and  feed  upon  their  interior  substance 
The  squares  attacked  usually  drop,  but  most  of  the  damaged  bolls 
remain  upon  the  plant  and  become  stunted  or  dwarfed,  except  late  in 
the  season,  when  they  either  dry  or  rot. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

This  insect  through  its  ravages  caused  the  abandonment  of  cotton 
culture  around  Monclova,  Mexico,  about  1862.     Two  or  three  years  ago 


Pig.  2.— Map  showing  distribution  of  the  Mexican  cotton-boFi  woevil. 

cotton  w^as  again  planted  in  that  vicinity,  but  the  weevil  immediately 
reap])eared  and  destroyed  the  cro}).  At  Matamoras  tlie  weevil  was 
noticed  eiglit  or  ten  years  ago.  About  1893  it  crossed  the  river  at 
Jirownsville,  and  in  1804  was  noticed  in  the  country  around  8an  Diego, 
Ahce,  and  IJeeville.  At  the  (^lose  of  tiie  season  of  18!)1  the  insect  occu- 
])ied  a  territory  extending  to  tlie  north  a  little  beyond  Beeville,  a  few 
miles  to  the  east  of  that  i)oint,  and  southwest  to  the  neigiiborliood  of 
IJealitos,  on  the  National  INIcxican  Jvailway.  Tlie  greatest  damage 
seems  to  have  been  done  along  the  lower  Nueces  liiver.     During  1805, 


and  particularly  in  tlie  latter  part  of  tlio  season,  it  extended  its  ran^e 
to  a  considerable  extent.  Toward  the  east  it  was  found  in  moderate 
abundance  alon<;-  tlie  valley  of  tlie  (luadaloui)e  Kiver  at  Victoria, 
Thoniaston,  and  Cuero.  North  of  its  old  ran<;e  it  extended  to  Kenedy, 
Floresville,  and  many  points  in  the  country  lyin^-  between  tin*  hitter 
])lace  and  Cuero.  A  single  held  was  found  near  San  Antonio  which 
contained  weevils  in  large  numbers,  and  in  tlie  same  way  a  single  Held 
was  found  far  to  the  east  at  Wharton  in  which  the  weevils  had  appeared 
late  in  the  season.  The  exact  localities  where  the  insect  was  found 
during'  1895  are  indicated  on  the  accomi)anying  map. 

AVORK    OF    THE    WEEVIL    IN    18V)(J. 

It  was  feared  that  during  1896  there  would  be  a  further  spread  of  the 
weevil,  but  for  some  reason,  probably  on  account  of  the  severe  midsum- 
mer drought,  there  was  not  only  no  spread  beyond  the  lindts  indicated 
on  the  1895  map,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  shrinkage  of  the  territory 
infested.  The  main  spread  in  1895  took  place  in  the  autumn  and  at  the 
outer  boundaries,  as  at  San  Antonio  and  at  Wharton  the  weevil  was 
unquestionably  killed  by  the  winter  frosts.  In  a  field,  for  example, 
near  San  Antonio,  which  was  several  times  examined  in  1895  by  Mr. 
Schwarz,  ]\Ir.  Townsend,  and  by  the  Avriter,  and  in  which  the  weevil 
was  extremely  abundant  down  to  the  month  of  December,  not  a  trace  of 
the  insect  could  be  found  in  189G.  In  181)6  the  drought  prevented  the 
'•make"  of  the  toj)  crop  at  many  points,  and  there  was  little  food  for 
the  autumnal  generations  of  the  weevil,  and  therefore  a  lesser  sx)read 
from  the  localities  of  successful  hibernation. 

NATURAL    HISTORY   AND   HABITS. 


The  insect  passes  the  winter  in  the  weevil  state.     It  can  be  found  on 


the  cotton  plant  until  late  in 
I)ortion  of  the  plant  is  green.  It 
is  found  most  abundantly  in  the 
earlywinterhidden  between  the 
involucre  and  the  boll,  and  later 
it  frequently  works  its  way  down 
into  the  dry  and  open  bolls. 
All  the  specimens  found  by  Mr. 
Schwarz  in  such  situations  in 
the  late  spring  of  1895  were 
dead;  but  Mr.  Townsend  found 
a  few  living  in  March.  The 
dry  boll  is  probably  not  a  fre- 
quently successful  hibernating 
place.  Judge  S.  G.  Borden,  of 
Sharpsburg,  however,  writing 
under  date  of  January  27, 1896, 
states  that  the  weevil  at  that 
time  was  being  found  nearly 
every  day  in  the  dry  bolls;  but 
this  statement  lacks  the  sig- 
nificance which  it  might  other- 
wise have  had  as  bearing  on 


December,  and,  in  fact,  as  long  as  any 


Fig.  3 


newly  hatched  larva  in  young  square;  b. 
nearly  full-grown  larva  in  sitii;  c,  pupa  in  young  boll 
picked  from  ground. 


the  question  of  hibernation  from  the  fact  that  no  heavy  frost  had  proba- 
bly occurred  up  to  that  time  at  Shari)sburg. 


Witli  tlie  cutting  of  tlie  plants  or  witli  the  rotting  or  drying  of  the 
bolls  as  a  result  of  frost,  the  adult  weevils  leave  the  plant  and  seek 
shelter  under  rubbish  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  or  among  weeds  and 
trash  at  the  margin  of  the  fields.  Here  they  remain  until  the  warm 
days  of  spring,  Avhen  they  fly  to  the  first  buds  on  such  volunteer  plants 
as  may  come  up  in  the  neighborhood.  They  feed  on  these  and  lay  their 
eggs  on  the  early  squares,  and  one,  or  perhaps  two,  generations  are 
developed  in  such  situations,  the  number  depending  upon  the  character 
of  the  season  and  the  date  of  cotton  i^lanting.  By  the  time  the  planted 
cotton  has  grown  high  enough  to  produce  squares  the  weevils  have 
become  more  numerous,  and  those  which  have  developed  from  the  gen- 
eration on  volunteer  cotton  attack  the  planted  cotton,  and  through 
their  punctures,  either  for  feeding  or  egg-laying,  cause  a  wholesale 
shedding  of  the  young  squares.  It  seems  to  be  an  almost  invariable 
rule  that  a  square  in  which  a  weevil  has  laid  an  egg  drops  to  the  ground 
as  a  result  of  the  work  of  the  larva;  in  the  square  on  the  ground  the 
larva  reaches  full  growth,  transforms  to  pupa,  and  issues  eventually  as 
a  beetle,  the  time  occupied  in  this  round  approximating  four  weeks. 
Later,  as  the  bolls  form,  the  weevils  attack  them  also,  and  lay  their 
eggs  in  them,  and  the  larva3  develop  in  the  interior  just  as  with  the 
squares.  The  bolls,  however,  do  not  drop.  Fig.  3,  a  and  h,  show  the 
larv?e  in  the  squares,  and  c,  a  young  boll  cut  open  and  the  pupa  in  its 
customary  position. 

There  is  a  constant  succession  of  generations  from  earl}^  spring  until 
frost,  the  weevils  becoming  constantly  more  numerous  and  the  larvai 


Tig.  4. — Mature  Ijoll  cut  open  at  left,  showing  full-grown  larva :  the  one  at  the  right  not  cut,  and 
showing  feeding  punctures  and  oviposition  marks. 

and  pup«ne  as  well.  A  single  female  will  occupy  herself  with  egg-laying 
for  a  considerable  number  of  days,  so  that  there  arises  by  July  an  inex- 
tricable confusion  of  generations,  and  the  insect  may  be  found  in  the 
field  in  all  stages  at  the  same  time.  The  bolls,  as  we  have  just  stated, 
do  not  drop  as  do  the  squares,  but  gradually  become  discolored,  usually 
on  one  side  only,  and  by  the  time  the  larva  becomes  full  grown  generally 
jcrack  open  at  the  tip.  While  in  a  square  one  usually  finds  but  a  single 
larva,  in  a  full-grown  boll  as  many  as  twelve  have  been  found.  In  any 
case,  however,  the  hatching  of  a  single  larva  in  a  boll  results  in  the 
destruction  of  the  boll  to  such  an  extent  that  its  fiber  is  useless.  Where 
no  serious  frost  occurs  in  December,  the  insects  all,  or  nearly  all,  reach 
maturity  and  enter  hibernating  quarters,  although  larva'  have  been 
found  on  into  January  at  8harpsburg.     Whenever  a  heavy  frost  comes 


ill  this  montli,  or  before,  the  ()l)seivations  of  last  fiijl  show  that  tliose 
insects  wliich  liave  not  rea(;he(l  tlie  beeth*.  sta«»e  are  nearly  all  killed. 
From  this  fact  it  follows  that  the  insect  will  i)robably  not  jirove  as 
injurions  in  other  ])ortions  of  the  cotton  belt  as  it  is  iu  southern  Texas. 
It  was  found  durin  <»■  the  latter  part  of  1895  that  the  weevil  w^as  i)resent 
in  anumber  of  localities  in  which  it  was  not  known 
by  the  planters  themselves  to  occur.  It  is  impor- 
tant that  every  planter  who  lives  in  or  near  the 
region  which  we  have  mapped  out  should  be  able 
to  discover  the  weevil  as  soon  as  it  makes  its 
appearance  in  his  fields.  Where  a  field  is  at  all 
badly  infested  the  absence  of  bloom  is  an  indica- 
tion of  the  presence  of  the  insect.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  season  the  weevils  attack  the  squares 
first,  and  these  wilt  and  droj)  off.  A  field  maybe 
in  full  blossom,  and  as  soon  as  the  insect  spreads 
well  through  it  hardly  a  blossom  will  be  seen. 
This  dropping  alone,  however,  is  not  a  sufficient 
indication  of  the  weeviFs  presence.     KSquares  are   ^,     .    j  ,   .  u  ^  ^^    i, 

,  -,     ^.   .n  on     •     ^^  1        ■     Fk;.  ;).— Late  fall  boll,  show- 

shed  irom  other  causes,  but  it  a  suiDcient  number  mg  bow  beetles  iiide  be- 
ef fallen  scjuares  are  cut  open  the  cause  will  be  tween  boii  and  involucre. 
apparent.  The  characteristic  larva  of  the  weevil  will  be  quite  readily 
recognizable  on  comj)arison  with  the  figures  which  we  publish  herewith. 
As  stated  above,  the  bolls  do  not  drop.  The  punctures  made  by  the 
weevils  in  feeding,  however,  are  comparatively  characteristic,  and  where 
a  boll  is  discolored  and  has  begun  to  crack  at  the  tip  the  larva  or  the 
pupa  can  be  seen  without  trouble  on  cutting  it  open.  Late  in  the  season 
the  weevils  themselves  will  be  found  between  the  involucre  and  the  boll, 
as  shown  in  fig.  5,  or  in  their  absence  the  feeding  marks  and  the  yellow, 
granular  excrement  which  collects  in  the  involucre  at  the  base  of  the 
boll  are  excellent  indications. 

POPULAR    NAMES. 

In  south  Texas,  among  Spanish -speaking  people,  the  insect  is  gener- 
ally known  as  the  "picudo,"  a  descriptive  name  which  refers  to  the  snout 
or  beak  of  the  insect.  English-speaking  planters  generally  referred  to 
the  insect  at  first  as  "the  sharpshooter,"  a  term  which  for  many  years 
has  been  applied  to  any  insect  which  causes  through  its  punctures  the 
shedding  of  the  sc^uares  or  the  rotting  of  the  bolls.  As  there  are  sev- 
eral native  insects  that  are  commonly  called  sharpshooters,  and  which, 
though  injurious,  are  by  no  means  to  be  compared  with  this  insect,  it 
becomes  necessary  to  discourage  in  every  way  the  use  of  the  word 
sharpshooter  as  applied  to  this  weevil.  This  was  attempted  in  the  first 
edition  of  the  circular  by  illustrating  one  of  the  commonest  of  the 
insects  ordinarily  termed  shari)shooters,  calling  attention  to  the  radical 
differences  which  exist  between  it  and  the  weevil  under  consideration. 
The  adoption  of  the  term  "Mexican  cotton-boll  weevil''  for  the  new 
pest  is  recommended.  The  term  sharpshooter  is  now  much  less  gener- 
ally apx^Med  to  the  weevil  than  it  was  at  first.  Planters  generally'  now 
refer  to  it  as  the  boll  weevil,  or  the  Mexican  weevil,  or  the  Mexican  boll 
weevil. 

PARASITES  AND  NATURAL  ENEMIES. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  little  assistance  will  be  derived  from  the  work 
of  natural  enemies  and  parasites  upou  this  insect.     Of  the  former  none 


of  any  importance  have  been  found.  Several  j^arasites,  however,  have 
been  found  to  attack  it,  and  in  one  or  two  locah'ties  some  little  good 
has  resulted  from  their  work.  The}^  have  only  been  abundant,  how- 
ever, late  in  the  season,  after  the  weevil  has  completed  its  damaj^e  for 
the  year  and  at  a  time  when  a  minimum  of  good  can  be  accomplished 
by  the  destruction  of  the  larva.  The  majority  of  the  weevils  in  a  given 
field  fail  to  hibernate  successfully,  being  killed  by  cold  weather  or  some 
other  cause,  so  that  the  work  of  parasites  at  this  time  does  not  count. 
Careful  estimates,  however,  show  that  from  15  to  20  per  cent  of  the 
weevil  larvie  in  fallen  squares  in  Xovember,  1895,  at  Beeville  and 
Kenedy  were  destroyed  by  parasites. 

REMEDIES. 

In  considering  the  matter  of  remedies  it  should  be  understood  at  the 
outset  that  experience  has  shown  that  none  of  the  general  applications 
of  insecticides  are  of  the  slightest  value  against  this  species  as  a  means 
of  protecting  infested  fields.  The  weevil  in  its  work  in  growing  cotton 
is  thoroughly  protected  against  poisons,  breeding  as  it  does  within  the 
blossoms  and  squares.  As  demonstrated  by  the  exi)erience  of  the 
spring  of  189(5,  poisons  may,  however,  be  used  as  a  means  of  destroy- 
ing overwintered  beetles  on  volunteer  cotton.  The  beetles  which  have 
survived  the  winter  collect  in  the  early  spring  on  the  first  sprouts 
which  appear  on  old  cotton  and  eat  the  partially  expanded  leaves  and 
the  tender  leaf  stems,  and  at  this  stage  can  be  poisoned  by  the  appli- 
cation of  an  arsenical  to  this  new  growth.  To  do  tliis  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  thoroughly  spray  the  growing  tips,  and  this  should  be  done 
when  volunteer  cotton  is  very  small,  preferably  mere  sprouts  or  bunches 
of  leaves  an  inch  or  two  in  length;  later  on  the  growing  parts  can  not 
be  easily  reached.  With  an  ordinary  knapsack  pump  a  field  may  be 
gone  over  rapidly  and  the  volunteer  cotton  thoroughly  treated,  the 
nozzle  being  directed  at  each  growing  tip.  The  first  application  should 
be  made  as  soon  as  the  volunteer  plants  sprout,  and  ])erhaps  repeated 
two  or  three  times  within  as  many  weeks.  As  o  dinarily  cultivated,  the 
number  of  volunteers  is  small  and  the  time  required  for  the  thorough 
spraying  of  such  plants  will  not  be  great.  A  strong  solution  should  be 
ai)plied,  viz,  1  pound  of  the  poison  to  50  gallons  of  water,  because  no 
harm  will  be  done  if  the  volunteer  plants  are  ultimately  killed  by  the 
I)oison. 

The  practicability  of  this  method  has  been  demonstrated,  but  it  has 
been  abundantly  shown  that  the  very  best  system  of  control  of  the 
weevil  is  in  a  system  of  cultivation  of  cotton,  to  be  later  described, 
which  will  ])revent  all  i)ossibility  of  volunteer  growth  whatever.  The 
poisoning  and  the  other  x^alliative  measures  relative  to  Aolunteer  growths 
are  given,  therefore,  merely  as  a  means  of  correcting  an  evil  which  may 
result  if  the  cultural  system  referred  to  has  been  neglected.  These 
remarks  api>ly,  for  instance,  to  the  trap  system,  Avhich  we  have  hitherto 
recommended  among  others.  This  consists  of  attracting  the  earliest 
beetles  to  a  few  cotton  plants  left  at  convenient  points  and  i)rotected 
from  winter  killing  by  forced  watering,  so  that  they  will  branch  out 
and  ac(iuire  buds  often  in  advance  of  volunteer  cotton.  From  these 
the  beetles  may  be  collected  by  hand  when  they  are  attracted  to  them 
by  the  first  warm  days,  or,  preferably,  these  plants  may  be  poisoned, 
as  already  suggested. 

The  fact  that  the  spring  generation  develops  only  u|)()n  volunteer 
cotton  has  suggested  the  possibility  that  the  insect  will  not  spread 


beyond  the  region  Avhere  volunteer  cotton  will  grow  in  s])ring,  but 
unlbrtiinately  this  possibility  is  by  no  means  absolutely  to  be  niiied 
upon.  Neveitheless,  the  destruction  of  su(*h  voliiiitcu'r  i)lants  as  come 
up  in  corntields  and  in  abandoned  lields  which  the  ])re\  ions  year  were 
l)lanted  to  cotton,  unless  they  be  systematically  poisoned,  can  not  be 
too  strongly  recommended,  for  it  is  a  matter  of  observation  that  the 
shade  afforded  by  the  corn  or  the  rank-growing  weeds  which  come  uj) 
iu  abandoned  lields  is  especially  favorable  to  the  development  of  the 
weevils. 

While  the  plauts  are  young,  and  where  labor  is  as  chea])  as  it  is  in 
south  Texas,  a  great  deal  of  good  can  be  accomjdished  by  i)icking  and 
burning  the  fallen  squares,  and  if  this  is  done  promptly  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  insects  will  be  destroyed.  It  should  be  done  at  least  twice, 
at  iutervals  of  three  weeks,  during  the  period  while  the  plants  are 
small.  As  soon  as  the  jdants  begiu  to  branch  out,  however,  this 
method  becomes  impracticable,  on  account  of  the  difidculty  of  tinding 
the  squares  on  the  ground. 

The  idea  of  iHcking  the  affected  bolls  during  the  cotton  i)i eking  was 
suggested  in  the  writer  s  first  published  account  of  this  insect.  It  was 
thought  that  the  aftected  bolls  could  be  so  readily  recognized  that 
many  thousands  of  the  insects  could  be  destroyed  by  the  cotton  pickers 
by  picking  these  affected  bolls  and  carrying  them  away  in  a  separate 
receptacle  to  be  burned.  The  amount  of  extra  labor  involved  in  this 
operation,  however,  would  be  very  considerable,  and  the  affected  bolls 
in  many  instances  are  not  to  be  recognized  at  a  glance. 

During  the  past  year  Mr.  Stronhall,  of  IJeeville,  has  devised  a 
machine  for  jarring  the  affected  squares  and  blossoms  from  young  cot- 
ton jdants  and  collecting  them  at  the  same  time.  This  apparatus  has 
been  given  a  partial  demonstration  the  past  season,  but  was  not  seen 
at  work  by  any  of  the  entomologists  engaged  in  the  investigation.  It 
is  arranged  to  brush  the  cotton  from  both  directions  vigorously,  and 
the  loosened  bolls  and  squares  are  caught  on  receiving  traj^s  and  ulti- 
mately burned  or  otherwise  destroyed.  The  brushes  work  in  o])posite 
directions  and  strike  the  cotton  i)lants  on  either  side.  It  can  be  adjusted 
to  plants  of  different  ages. 

The  careful  investigation  of  this  weevil  during  the  past  two  or  three 
years  by  the  Division  of  Entomology  has  fully  demonstrated  the 
supreme  importance  of  the  cultural  method  of  control,  to  which  fact 
we  gave  si^ecial  prominence  in  our  first  circular  on  this  insect.  There 
can  be  no  question  now  that  in  the  proper  system  of  growing  cotton  a 
practically  complete  remedy  for  the  weevil  exists.  In  the  first  place,  it 
has  been  established  beyond  question  that  the  conditions  of  cultivation 
which  make  volunteer  growth  possible  also  make  the  continuance  of 
the  weevil  inevitable.  Of  first  importance  is  the  early  removal  of  the 
old  cotton  in  the  fall,  preferably  in  November  or  earlier.  This  can  be 
done  by  throwing  out  the  old  plants  with  a  plow,  root  and  all,  and 
afterwards  raking  them  together  and  burning  them.  This  treatment 
should  be  followed,  as  promptly  as  may  be,  by  deep  ])lowing,  say  to  a 
depth  of  6  or  8  inches.  This  leaves  the  field  comparatively  clean  of  old 
cotton  stalks,  facilitates  thorough  cultivation  the  following  year,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  collects  and  destroys  all  of  the  weevil  larvie  and  pupie 
in  the  cotton  at  the  time,  and  also  most  of  the  adults.  The  escapijig 
beetles  will  be  buried  by  deep  plowing,  and  will  not  again  reach  the 
surface.  Few,  if  any,  of  them  Avill  succeed  in  hibernating  in  the  absence 
of  the  ordinary  rubbish  in  the  fields  in  which  they  winter.  Fields  treated 
in  this  way  have  given  a  practical  demonstration  of  the  usefulness  of 
the  method. 


8 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 

Illillllll 

3  1262  09228  3299 


The  greatest  danger  from  the  weevil  is  due  to  the  presence  of  volun- 
teer cotton,  which  means  early  food  for  the  weevils  in  the  spring  and 
abundant  means  for  their  overwintering,  and  tbe  effort  made  to  retain 
volunteer  and  get  early  cotton,  or  the  "first  bale,"  is  a  very  serious 
menace  to  cotton  culture  within  the  weevil  district. 

This  cultural  method,  if  generally  practiced,  will  undoubtedly  prove  a 
perfect  remedy  for  upland  cotton,  and  will  vastly  reduce  weevil  damage 
in  the  lowlands,  where  the  weevil  is  more  apt  to  winter,  perhaps  in 
adjoining  woods  or  roadside  vegetation.  The  e^j  removal  of  cotton 
by  the  means  suggested  is  especially  advised  wlienever  tbe  presence  of 
the  weevil  shows  that  the  picking  of  a  top  crop  is  problematical.  In 
such  instances  it  would  be  well  to  uproot  and  destroy  cotton  stalks  in 
September  or  October,  as  would  have  been  thoroughly  feasible  for  much 
of  the  ui)land  cotton  in  1896.  If  this  cultural  method  can  be  enforced, 
either  by  State  legislation  or  by  the  cooperation  and  insistence  on  the 
part  of  landowners  that  their  renters  shall  carry  out  the  system  out- 
lined, the  weevil  difficulty  can  undoubtedly  in  very  large  measure  be 
overcome. 

In  connection  with  the  system  of  fall  treatment  of  the  cotton,  con- 
stant and  thorough  cultivation  of  the  growing  crop  as  late  as  possible 
is  of  considerable  value,  and  is  also  what  should  be  done  to  insure  a 
good  yield.  With  a  crossbar  to  brush  the  plants  many  of  the  blos- 
soms and  squares  containing  weevils  will  be  jarred  to  the  ground  and 
buried,  together  with  those  already  on  the  ground,  in  moist  soil,  and 
a  large  percentage  of  the  material  will  rot  before  the  contained  insects 
have  developed. 

It  will  be  greatly  to  the  interest  of  all  growers  of  cotton  in  the  prolific 
district  lying  to  the  northeast  of  the  region  at  present  infested  to  urge 
the  passage  of  an  act  during  the  session  of  189G-97  which  will  bring 
about  the  enforcement  of  remedial  work  in  1897.  This  act  should  pro- 
vide for  the  appointment  of  commissioners  in  each  county  upon  the 
application  of  a  certain  number  of  the  citizens  of  that  county.  These 
commissioners  should  be  empowered  to  enforce  remedial  work,  to  levy 
penalties,  or  to  have  the  work  done  by  their  own  agents,  the  cost  to  be 
assessed  upon  the  proi^erty.  It  will  be  well  to  let  this  law  have  a  wide 
bearing  and  not  to  confine  its  application  to  this  i)articular  insect,  but 
cover  all  injurious  insects,  in  case  of  future  emergencies  of  a  similar 
nature.  Such  a  law  should  be  passed  in  every  State  in  the  Union. 
Though  it  might  remain  inoperative  for  years,  its  application  would  be 
available  in  case  of  any  sudden  emergency,  snch  as  the  introduction 
from  a  foreign  country  of  a  new  injurious  insect,  or  the  sudden  multi- 
plication and  spread  of  any  one  of  our  native  species. 

L.  O.  Howard, 

Entomoloylsi, 

Approved : 

Ohas.  W.  Uabney,  Jr., 

Assistant  Secretary, 

Washington,  D.  C,  February  4,  1897. 


